Curse Return: Demon Void Girl Doesn't Want to Be a Weakling

"Don't anticipate your attack. Observe your opponent's attack and let your body judge where, how, and how much force to strike next. Your muscle memory is faster than your brain. In actual combat, thinking itself is half a step slower."

Itachi paused for a moment, then slowly nodded: "Don't think... let your body fight on its own."

He looked down at his fist, slowly clenching and unclenching it.

Kugizaki watched the whole thing from the sidelines, her eyes never leaving the arena as the cursed nails in her hand exploded and started again.

Mashiro walked up to her and said, "You've been distracted by watching our practice. Try to make the curse nail first. You can only succeed the second time if you succeed the first time."

Kugizaki took a deep breath, shook his numb fingers, and started again.

This time, she didn't look at Itajimaru and Fushiguro continuing their practice on the training field; her eyes were fixed only on her own hands.

The power of the spell gathered and spun in her palm. She gritted her teeth and compressed it sharply.

The blue nail condensed and took shape above the palm, trembled three times, and dissipated after about seven seconds.

Kugizaki stared at the empty air, then shouted, "I did it!"

Itadori was distracted by the shout and was punched in the shoulder by Fushiguro, causing him to take two exaggerated steps back. He then immediately turned to look in Kugizaki's direction: "Did you finish it?"

Kugizaki looked at his palm. Although the cursed nails had dissipated, those seven seconds had truly existed.

Mashiro looked at Kugizaki's face, which went from surprise to delight, and smiled, "Not bad."

Chapter 25 Emergency Mission (4k)

After training, the four of them sat on the stone steps beside the training field.

Huzhang sat cross-legged on the ground, unscrewed the mineral water bottle and took a big gulp, then handed the bottle to Fuhei.

Fu Hei took it, but didn't drink it; he placed it at his feet.

Kugizaki was still staring at his palm. The curse nails had dissipated for quite some time, but the sensation of those seven seconds still seemed to linger on his palm.

"If you master the Cursed Nail technique," she slowly clenched her fist, "can you hit several targets at once?"

“It depends on how you allocate your spell power.” Mashiro sat on the top step of the stone steps, gently wiping away the rain. “You can only condense one strand right now. Stabilize this number first.”

"Then?"

"After that, we can try multiple condensations. Two, three, each one must have sufficient penetrating power and a large amount of incantation injected. With more, the power of a single one will decrease, so we need to find a balance."

Kugisaki nodded, opened and closed his fingers several times, feeling the flow of cursed power within his body.

Itadori stood up from the ground, walked over to Mashiro, and looked unusually serious. "Mashiro-nee, you just said my rhythm was too fixed. But if I don't control the rhythm, how can I guarantee that every punch will hit the right spot?"

“Your problem right now is that you’re controlling too much.” Mashiro raised his hand and pointed in the air with his fingertips. “The angle, power, and speed of every punch you throw are all planned in advance. Left punch to probe, right punch to strike hard, left punch to probe again, right leg to sweep again. Fushiro saw through this pattern after watching it twice.”

Tiger Staff turned to look at Fu Hei.

Fu Hei nodded, "Yes, I can block all of the third round of attacks."

Itachi's expression froze for a moment, then he slowly sat back down on the ground. "So it's not that I'm not fast enough, it's that I'm too easy to see through."

“The speed is fast enough, but the rhythm is too honest,” Mashiro said. “Look at Fukuro. He’s controlling two Treasure Dogs at the same time, while also moving his own position and looking for opportunities to attack.”

“Every move he makes is a spontaneous decision, without any pre-set procedure. Your physical condition is better than his, but you are still at the stage of using your brain to command your body.”

"You can start learning how to deceive people in real-world situations now."

Itari raised her eyes and continued, "It's not about controlling the rhythm, it's about breaking the rhythm. Intentionally let your opponent see your punching habits, and then punch in the completely opposite way next time."

"You only truly strike when he feels he understands you. Your physical condition is better than anyone I've ever seen; now, use your brain too."

Itadori looked down at his fist, stood up, walked to the center of the arena, and threw two punches into the air. He didn't use any magical power; it was just a pure physical test.

The first punch is a straight strike, and the second punch is suddenly redirected halfway through, stopping the force of the straight punch and turning it into a sideways swing.

The movements are still a bit clumsy, but the direction is right.

Fushiguro glanced at Itajimaru, then turned to Mashiro. "You just said my shikigami control and movement are already quite good. Is there anything you want to change?"

"There are too few types of shikigami; you'll have to collect them yourself. There are no obvious weaknesses in terms of control," Mashiro said.

“But if your opponent suppresses both you and Yuquan at the same time, you will be forced into a position where you can only dodge. When you circled around my side just now, your attention was completely focused on Yuquan, and you lost your sense of position, which is why I was able to subdue you from behind.”

“Sense of location,” Fu Hei repeated the word.

"While controlling the shikigami, you must always know where you are, not by relying on peripheral vision or intuition, but by treating your own position as information that must be updated in real time."

"The Jade Dog can be repelled, but you can't be cornered. When you flank, leave yourself a way out."

Mashiro absorbed Murasame into her body, and the blade transformed into a stream of light that disappeared into her palm.

She stood up from the stone steps and brushed the sand off her pants. "That's enough for today. Go back and practice your skills."

After finishing his shadowboxing practice, Itadori walked up to Mashiro with a serious expression. "Mashiro-neechan, next time I'll definitely force you to use your right hand."

Mashiro looked at him with a hint of provocation, "Oh my, can someone as insignificant as Itadori Hisahito do that?"

Itadori smiled, his eyes resolute. "Just wait, Mashiro-nee. One day I will bring you down."

Kugizaki was still researching how to condense the cursed nails when she heard her phone vibrate. She took it out of her pocket and glanced at it.

Itajō picked up the water bottle from the ground, took two steps out of the training field, then turned back and asked Mashiro if she wanted to go to the cafeteria together.

Mashiro said no, and then her phone screen lit up again.

A LINE message from Gojo Satoru.

"Gojo Satoru": Mashiro-chan, I heard you were a coach again today?

Mashiro leaned against the wall by the training field and typed.

"Mashiro": Who told you that?

"Gojo Satoru": Fushiguro. He said you saw through the opponent's attack pattern at a glance, and that you defeated Hisahito in training using only your left hand.

"Gojo Satoru": Oh right, you also taught Kugizaki how to use the cursed nails. When are you coming to the vocational high school as a full-time teacher? I'll pay you a salary.

Mashiro looked down at the screen, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Mashiro": You can't afford to hire me. I charge by the task.

"Gojo Satoru": Waaah, so cruel.

"Gojo Satoru": By the way, I still haven't seen the live demonstration of the water control technique. Nanami gave me a general overview, but I really want to see a live demonstration.

"Mashiro": As I mentioned last time, the report will now be a presentation.

"Five Insights": The report is still being written; I'll give it to you in a few days.

"Mashiro": The demonstration will be in a few days.

"Five Insights": Do it, do it, do it.

Just as Mashiro was about to put her phone away, it rang again.

"Seven Seas": An urgent mission requires your presence.

"Mashiro": What kind of person is she?

"Nanami": In Chichibu City, Saitama Prefecture, the observation station at the window reported unusual fluctuations in magical energy last night. Preliminary assessment indicates it's at least level one, but the exact level needs on-site confirmation. There are currently no jutsu masters there capable of handling this alone. This is a formal mission request.

Mashiro looked at the message. Saitama wasn't too far, but it would still take some time to get there from Tokyo.

"Mashiro": When are we leaving?

"Nanami": The sooner the better. The mission briefing has been sent to your email. The person at the window will meet you at the station, and someone will take you to the scene after you arrive.

"Mashiro": I understand.

Mashiro put her phone in her pocket and stood up from the stone steps.

As Itari was about to walk towards the cafeteria, he noticed her stand up and turned around.

"Mashiro-nee?"

"We have a mission." Mashiro tugged at his sleeve. "We need to head towards Saitama immediately."

Huzhang nodded.

He didn't ask any more questions. Mashiro was very strong, and besides, there were other people with her.

"Then be careful on your way," he said, then added, "Will you stay for dinner tonight?"

"I probably won't be back in the next couple of days, so don't wait for me."

When Mashiro walked out of the training field, the sunlight was shining brightly in the corridor.

Chichibu City is located in the northwestern part of Saitama Prefecture. The fastest way to get there from Tokyo is by taking the Shinkansen to Kumagai Station and then transferring to the Chichibu Railway.

The observation station for the window is located near Chichibu Shrine, and the mission area is in the direction of the mountains and forests, so it should be a cursed spirit related to the terrain.

The entire journey takes at least an hour and a half each way.

On her way to the station, she sent a LINE message to Gojo Satoru.

"Mashiro": Nanami has given me an urgent mission to Saitama. I'm setting off now.

Gojo Satoru didn't reply. She waited for a few minutes, but still received no message.

Are you busy? I usually reply very quickly.

"Never mind." She zipped up her coat a notch; the wind was cooler than usual today.

The Shinkansen took forty minutes to travel from Tokyo to Kumagai Station.

When she transferred to the Chichibu Railway at Kumagai Station, the platform announcements were broadcasting the stop times for each station along the line.

There weren't many passengers in the carriage. An elderly woman was sitting opposite me with shopping bags, two backpackers were looking at a map, and the other seats were empty.

Mashiro sat by the window, looking out at the scenery gradually changing from the residential area of ​​Kumagaya to the mountainous area in the direction of Chichibu.

The cedar forest grew denser, and tunnels appeared one after another.

My phone vibrated.

She looked down at the screen; it was a supplementary message from Nanami.

The observation station's report indicates that the spell energy fluctuations are strongest in the valley on the east side of the mountain forest. The level three spellcaster sent by the window has been out of contact for four hours since the last communication last night.

She replied that she received the message, and then opened Gojo Satoru's LINE chat window again.

There has still been no reply.